For millennia, a godlike being as old as the cosmos itself floated free across the universe. As the fetid swamps of the Earth’s Cretaceous Period began to recede, this god Merulina crashed into the turbid waters of the expanding Atlantic.

Settling into the ocean depths, the deity conjured followers, calling forth the Coralax from the incandescent coral thriving in the warm shallows. Made from coral imbued with Merulina’s divine essence, the first Coralax were Shapers, high priests meant to lead the burgeoning Coralax civilization.

Merulina instructed these Shapers, who were psychically connected to the thoughts and feelings of their god, to construct a beautiful city over its body now deeply embedded in the ocean floor.

The brilliant multicolor spires and sweeping arches of the city now radiate a luminous aura from the otherwise blackened depths. This city of coral with a god at its heart is the enchanted capital of the Coralax Empire.

Extending their control over the oceans of Earth, the Coralax became masters of the Virtea, a race of humanoid fish creatures that tend to stay in very deep water.

The primitive, nomadic Virtea are not overly violent but will defend themselves and their loved ones fiercely. Dominated through a combination of charm, intimidation, and mental strength, the Virtea serve the will of the Coralax.

In firm control of their watery domain, the Coralax were suddenly thrust into confusion when the god Merulina fell silent. As the Shapers cast about with no god to guide them, the threats from the surface began.

At first the surface intrusions were minimal – some fishing boats crisscrossing far above their cities. Over the following centuries, the surface dwellers began to encroach upon the Coralax. The surface population multiplied, cultures advanced, human cities flourished, and the industrialization of the surface began to seep into the oceans.

In particular, the pollution of their pristine habitat with toxic waste, oil, and other caustic agents both terrified and infuriated the Coralax.

With no god to direct them, the Coralax began building watchtowers just off the Earth’s coastlines in order to maintain a vigilant watch over this growing threat from the surface.

As the pollution began to degrade the very coral from which their bodies were made, the desperate Coralax began crafting responses to the land-walkers. Some retreated to the ocean depths. Others took a much more aggressive approach.

On the surface, Longbow operatives have recently begun to report a strange new creature along the coastlines of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. The creatures are aggressive and highly dangerous, but Paragon City scientists have managed to capture one to determine its origins.

Though their exact genetic makeup has not yet been determined, these creatures appear to be hybrids, with patches of coral bursting from their previously human flesh. Shimmering in varied shades of red, blue and green coral, these genetic monstrosities seem determined to destroy all land-walkers.

Now these hybrids patrol the abandoned coastline, attacking any creature they encounter on land. The destructive drive of the Coralax Hybrids may reflect the final strategy of the Coralax as they attempt to ensure that the land-walkers cease threatening their watery kingdom forever more.